“I am not talking to you. You make me eat leaves! They are green, they are yuck and they are LEAVES!”. One of my first memories of my short vegan life! As my temper touched the roof, I stood inside the bathroom. The same bathroom that witnessed the crime of a bowl of spinach rice being flushed to oblivion! I had locked myself in, yelling periodically in midst of my sobs. The lady on the other side of the door was persuading me to let myself out. But I wouldn’t budge until she promised me to never stuff my face with veggies! This incident marked the initiation of a test – test of patience for a woman who I have always pushed to the wall; a woman who makes me wonder, “if this is how a lady is supposed to behave, I am surely a devil in disguise!”; a woman who has redefined the word patience; a woman who’s taught me the meaning of unconditional love and always left me wondering if I was even capable to returning it in minimal amounts! ;a woman of solid principles and a precious heart; a woman I call “Ma”.
Sometimes its best to leave things unspoken coz you may not do justice to them while capturing them in flow of words. What I feel for Mom is one such thing. I guess all of you would agree with me on this one. But I would still go ahead with my sincere efforts to recognize and appreciate this excellent creation of God, my mother. Being a home maker for around 30 years, Ma has shouldered the most vital responsibility of holding the family together and keeping us grounded at all points in time. I shudder at the very thought of not having my Mom serving as LOC during war times with Dad! It’s surprises me at how the job of a home maker is thankless and doesn’t come with a retirement age! Imagine a work environment with peers/managers not stopping to as much as acknowledge your work and get back to you when you least expect only to dump more work on you! Sucks right? Now imagine working for free! Did you imagine that? Sorry, I couldn’t even think of it as a remote possibility!!! It always amazes me how my salary sprouts wings and flies out of the window even before month end! Looking back at my growing up years, I had demands, few more expensive than the others! I would always use my puppy dog eyes to my advantage, “Ma! I want!”. Not hearing a no for an answer, my please would transform into, “Ma!!! I want! I WANT!!“. Guess what? I did get what I want. But I never knew what transpired between the initial no and the final conceding yes. I probably would never know, just like all the sacrifices Mom has made over the years, without keeping a count. It’s said sacrificing comes naturally to a woman. As unfair and chauvinistic I find this statement, looking at the examples in my life, I know its true. I can’t count the number of sleepless nights Ma has had coz of my impending exams! It hurts me to relive those moments where my dreams took precedence over her needs. I can’t cook to save my life! But commenting on her cooking is like breathing! I am ashamed of all the times I cringed looking at the food, “Don’t you know I don’t like this! Why do you keep preparing this!!” without as much as sparing a thought that probably she liked it, probably she woke up at unearthly hours just to make sure I don’t leave house on an empty stomach. My first ever drawing was made with my Mom holding my little hand, struggling to hold the crayon. My master piece comprised of a house and 2 trees. I was proud of it. She was proud of me! As the time passed, she was still proud of me. Not that I gave her a lot of reasons to feel that way. But the very thought that Ma appreciates me instills faith in me. “I must have something good going for Ma to feel this way about me“, I think. All the competitions I have participated, all the competitions I have won, have 2 things in common – an utterly nervous me and a loving confident presence next to me, Ma. Being the only child, I redefined tantrums. From plaiting my hair to draping my first sari, from my first day at school to my last exam in college, my journey has seen her being a silent witness. I talk about a woman who gave away everything she wanted to make way for my dreams. She lived every minute of her motherhood making me the person I am today. I am very proud, not for who I have become but for the reason I am who I am. To say she changed my life would be unfair, for she is my life. I have lived in her for 9 months – a bond, which I may not even understand completely; the same bond which gave her reason to be what she is now. Who say’s there’s a woman behind every successful man? I say there’s a woman behind anything successful! Mom indeed is the world. Hands that rocked my cradle surely did rule my world.
